A process of manufacturing semiconductor substrates (hereinafter, simply referred to as “substrates”) conventionally involves various types of processing that is performed on substrates. For example, the substrate processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-3080 (Document 1) performs scrub cleaning processing on the back surfaces of substrates and then performs scrub cleaning processing on the front surfaces of the substrates. In the substrate processing apparatus, substrates with their front surfaces facing upward are transported into an indexer cell and turned upside down by an inversion/passing part, and then cleaning processing is performed on the back surfaces of the substrates. The substrates that have undergone the back-surface cleaning processing are turned upside down by an inversion part disposed above the inversion/passing part, and then cleaning processing is performed on the front surfaces of the substrates. The substrates that have undergone the cleaning processing are placed on an placement part disposed between the inversion/passing part and the inversion part and transported out to the indexer cell. The inversion/passing part includes a substrate inverting device in which substrates are supported in a horizontal posture by a supporting mechanism, and the substrates supported by the supporting mechanism are caught and held and inverted by a catch-and-hold inversion mechanism. The supporting mechanism supports substrates in a horizontal posture by bringing horizontal surfaces of its four support members into contact with the lower surfaces of the substrates.
In the substrate processing apparatus of Document 1, the inversion/passing part for inverting unprocessed substrates and the inversion part for inverting cleaned and processed substrates are provided separately. This configuration may increase the size of the substrate processing apparatus. On the other hand, if one and the same substrate inverting device is used to invert substrates irrespective of the state (e.g., unprocessed or processed) of the substrates, grime, particles, or the like on unprocessed substrates may adhere to the support members (i.e., guide parts) for supporting substrates in the substrate inverting device and be transferred to processed substrates.